SELF-DETERMINATION AND AUTHENTICITY
“Our culture has taught us to value being self-determining: making our own choices about important events in our lives rather than having those choices made for us by others. That value is expressed in our desire to be authentic: to speak and act as who we truly are rather than shaping all our responses to fit other people’s expectations.
Each of us can learn to trust our own sense of what means most to us and accept it as our guide as we seek to find our own direction. To express yourself as you are, with minimal pretense, allows for a less stressful and more satisfying life. When I’m stating clearly what I want, I’m likely to be decisive and direct. I’m in touch with my strength – and so are you.
“A friend is a person who leaves you with all your freedom intact but obliges you to be fully what you are.” In that spirit, in being authentic, I don’t want to intrude on your authenticity.
Listen to the entire chapter as read by The Happy President from the book Being & Caring: A Psychology for Living by Victor Daniels and Laurence J. Horowitz below.
The Happy President 